Camp Australia under investigation in Queanbeyan over safety concerns

Parents have complained to the department about a lack of supervision at services run by Camp Australia at Queanbeyan West, Queanbeyan East and Queanbeyan Public Schools that was leading to bullying and injuries.

A department spokeswoman said officials were aware of the concerns raised about the services.

"In our role as NSW Regulatory Authority, the department visited the services and subsequently issued compliance and emergency action notices," the spokeswoman said.

"The services continue to operate and are working closely with the department to respond.

"As investigations are ongoing, no further comment can be made at this time."

A Camp Australia spokesperson said the childcare industry was suffering from severe staffing shortages and the company placed the highest priority on the wellbeing of children.

"Our approach to child safety and supervision is comprehensive and stringent. We employ rigorous procedures, including sign-ins for each session, regular head counts, extensive training for educators, prompt incident reporting and more," the spokesperson said.

"Should a child be injured, for example during play, our policies and procedures ensure that families, Camp Australia management, and the regulatory authorities are notified promptly, and swift action is taken to ensure the health and safety of the child."

Rhi Sugars went to collect her son, Dallas, from Queanbeyan West on Thursday to find him alone and without a jacket on the playground.

On another occasion, he was found hiding in the bathroom.

"Our children aren't safe there, our children aren't happy there," she said.

"We feel sick that they have to be there."

Melanie Gumm sends her son to after school care at Queanbeyan Public School and said the service was completely unstructured and understaffed.

Her son often comes home with scratches, red marks and other injuries from rough play but the service did not provide incident reports.

"There's a complete lack of supervision. Even when there's staff there they don't know what's going on," Mrs Gumm said.

"All the parents that I know of are so desperate for care, they have no choice."

Lisa Dunphy, who has a child at the Queanbeyan East service, said parents were frequently told to keep children at home because of a lack of staff.

On one occasion towards the end of Term 1, Ms Dunphy arrived to collect her son and witnessed several unsupervised children climbing on a wall on the outside of a school building. She said it took five minutes to find a staff member to sign out her child.

She said neurodivergent children were not adequately catered for at the service.

"There's no proper supervision. There's no structure to how they run the service. It's usually quite chaotic," Ms Dunphy said.

Another mother of a child at Queanbeyan East Public School said her son injured his hand while playing football on concrete as there was not enough staff to supervise the children on the grass oval.

The boy had a broken finger which required surgery. It took two weeks for the mother to receive an incident report which had inaccuracies about how and when the injury occurred.

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Queanbeyan East P&C president Kenrick Winchester said complaints about the outside of school hours care service were becoming more frequent.

"Based on the feedback I've received, I'm concerned," Mr Winchester said.

"There should always be a guarantee of child safety."

Parents have also reported being over-charged for services or not having the childcare subsidy applied to their account.

The Camp Australia spokesperson said the company was committed to inclusive care and had a no-tolerance approach to bullying.

They said some charges were amended on family accounts because of childcare subsidy recalculations by the federal government.

It is understood executives from Camp Australia are visiting the Queanbeyan services this week.

The Education Department spokesperson said families should come forward with any concerns.

"Families should make contact with Camp Australia directly with any queries relating to fees and charges.

"Anyone who has a concern or complaint about an early childhood education and care service can contact the Department on 1800 619 113 or email ececd@det.nsw.edu.au."

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